Letter to Johann Philipp Becker, June 15, 1885

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 15 June 1885


First published abridged in: F. Engels, Vergessene Briefe (Briefe Friedrich Engels' an Johann Philipp Becker), Berlin, 1920 and in full in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXVII, Moscow, 1935
Published in English in full for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 47


ENGELS TO JOHANN PHILIPP BECKER

IN GENEVA

London, 15 June 1885

My Dear Old Fellow,

I was delighted to get your letter; it is indeed a damned shame that we should be so far apart. However the time will doubtless come when the likes of us will again be able to travel about untroubled by too great a pressure of work or the harassments of the continental police. Then I shall pack my bags and pay you a visit.

Meanwhile the world goes very gently on its way, though it may well speed up a bit shortly. Old William[1] would long since have kicked the bucket had he not been informed from on high that the angels' drill still left something to be desired and, in particular, that when ordered to goose-step they were still failing to throw their legs in the air as prescribed in the regulations. Accordingly he could not yet be received with the appropriate honours. That is why he has now despatched Frederick Charles to carry out an inspection.[2] It is hoped he will be able to report that Field-Marshal Michael Archangel has succeeded in training the heavenly host to the standard of perfection sought by the Prussians, in which case old William will doubtless make haste to take the heavenly guard-mounting parade in person.

You are quite right, radicalism in France is rapidly becoming more and more threadbare. There is only one man left who has yet to become so and that is Clemenceau. If he gets in he'll shed a whole mass of illusions, above all the illusion that nowadays a bourgeois republic can govern in France without thieving and causing others to thieve. It is just possible that he will then go further. But that is not necessary. All that is necessary is that this last sheet-anchor of the bourgeoisie should show what he is capable of— which, given his present point of view, is nothing.

Here in England the cause is progressing pretty well, even if not in the form that is customary at home. Since 1848 the English parliament has unquestionably been the most revolutionary body in the world and the next elections will mark the beginning of a new epoch, even though it may not necessarily manifest itself as quickly as all that.[3] Workers will appear in Parliament in growing numbers, each one worse than the last. But that is necessary over here. All the scoundrels who at the time of the International played at being bourgeois-radical philistines must appear in Parliament for what they are. Whereupon the masses will become socialist here too. Industrial overproduction will do the rest.

The rumpus in the German party came as no surprise to me. In a philistine country like Germany the party must also have a philistine 'educated' right wing which it will shed when the time comes. In Germany philistine socialism dates back to 1844 and was criticised in the Communist Manifesto. It is as immortal as your German philistine himself. So long as the Anti-Socialist Law remains in force, I am not in favour of our provoking a split, since there is no parity of weapons. Should these gentlemen, however, themselves bring about a split by attempting to suppress the proletarian nature of the party and replace it with a crudely aesthetic form of sentimental philanthropy without guts or substance, then we shall just have to take it as it comes.

I am still engaged in dictating the third volume of Capital. It is a magnificent book and as a work of science puts even the first one in the shade. As soon as I have it in a ms. other people can also read, I shall be able to devote some time to sorting the papers. I shall then look out your things. Until that time — round about the autumn — I shall have absolutely no chance to turn my hand to anything else. The second volume has been printed and I shall probably be able to send you a copy in a fortnight or so.

Marx's daughters have been keeping well so far. Mme Lafargue's husband is back in jail for another 4 months (for non-payment of a fine),[4] while Mrs Aveling is working hard at propaganda over here, though it may be some time before there is any great success.

I have taken out another five pound money order for you, of which you have doubtless already been advised. I trust it will prove welcome. Well then, take care of your health so that you can join in the little bit of fun that is bound to come pretty soon. I have been keeping well so far, though the doctors say I'm unlikely to be able to mount a horse again — hence unfit for active service, dammit!

For the rest I remain

Ever your old friend

F. Engels

  1. ↑ William I
  2. ↑ Frederick Charles, Prince of Prussia and inspector-general of the cavalry, died on 15 June 1885.
  3. ↑ See this volume, p. 367.
  4. ↑ On 21 May 1885 Paul Lafargue was sent to Ste Pélagie prison, Paris, for two months for failing to pay a fine of 100 francs imposed on him in April 1883 by a jury in Moulins as punishment for his public speeches (see Note 9). To begin with, Lafargue was kept in the cell reserved for criminals, but later transferred to the part of the prison where the political detainees were kept.